What a sight: People looking at supercars taking part in the Gumball 3000 rally, a motoring event founded by British entrepreneur Maximillion Cooper where participants drive their vehicles some 4,828km across multiple countries, parked in front of the Angkor Wat temple in Siem Reap province. — AFP
The centuries- old temples of the country’s famed Angkor Wat played host to a parade of Rolls-Royces, Ferraris and Lamborghinis, although drivers were banned from revving their supercharged engines.
The event was intended to promote the environmentally-sensitive Unesco-listed World Heritage site, where the ruins of the Khmer empire’s greatest monuments are surrounded by lush forests and giant trees.
Tourism is vital to the South-East Asian country and received around 6.6 million visitors a year before the Covid-19 pandemic, when numbers nosedived to below 200,000 in 2021.
Visitors rebounded to nearly 5.5 million last year, netting more than US$3bil (RM12.8bil) in revenue, but remained below pre- pandemic levels.
Asked about the apparently incongruous nature of the occasion, Cambodia’s tourism minister Sok Soken said that strict guidelines had been imposed, with engine-revving banned “in terms of disrespect to our heritage here”.
He spoke a few metres away from a Bugatti Chiron, of which some models reportedly have list prices of more than US$3mil (RM12.8mil).
“The display of cars is an art of technology, an inclusion of technology and a modern way of travelling,” he said, adding that Cambodia “will be ready to provide hospitality to all forms of travellers”.
An attempt by organisers Gumball 3000, a British lifestyle brand, to set a record for the number of supercars and hypercars at a World Heritage site fell short.
However, the vehicles saw high traffic from locals and tourists taking pictures and selfies.
“This is the first time I have seen such modern cars at Angkor Wat,” said university student Kuy Tola, 19. “It is amazing.” — AFP
